Inside Leftthe independent Scottish football blog

Welcome to another Four To Follow, Inside Left’s pick of the weekend’s action. This week sees a mixture of league and Cup games, with Scottish Cup replays and the semi-final of this years ALBA Challenge Cup taking place. We begin though with arguably the finest football derby game in the world.

Rangers v Celtic

There are many great derby games in the world of football. In Portugal, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. In Italy, it’s AS Roma and Lazio. Argentina’s Boca Juniors against River Plate is always a fiery encounter, and there’s no love lost between Rio’s Flamengo en Fluminense, or for that matter, between the two giants of Turkish football, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. In Holland, they even have the ‘Klassieker’ between Rotterdam’s Feyenoord and Ajax of Amsterdam.

But it is in Glasgow that you’ll find one of the oldest, and most fiercely contested games derby games in world football today. The two teams involved are no longer the power they once where in world football, when, in the sixties and seventies Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers won European silverware as well as added to their already heady collection of domestic honours, but the rivalry that was created in the earlier part of the century has certainly not abated.

What makes the Glasgow derby stand out from the others is that the rivalry is based not just on economics (such as the Flamengo and Fluminense derby) or political (right-wing Lazio against left-wing Roma) or cultural (CSKA Sofia, the team of the intellectuals against Levski, the team of the working man), but a combination of some of those, with a dash of religion thrown in. Celtic, the team with the poor Irish, Catholic and republican background, against the rich Scots of Rangers, proudly protestant and nationalistic. East Glasgow against West Glasgow. Two successful teams in a large city, in a league they dominate totally and alternatively make for an extra bit of tension: getting one over the other side.

Its hard to believe that from the very first fixture, played in 1888 in such good spirit that one commentator at the time was inspired to write that the teams “got on so well that you would believe that they were old firm friends”, the game has somehow mutated into the game it is now. The teams certainly started out with quite a close relationship playing many friendlies in front of huge gates. But like all good things, this relationship came to an end as the games became bitter, hard-fought encounters with pitch invasions, mass brawls, arrests and even deaths. An activist group that monitors sectarian activity in Glasgow has reported that on Old Firm weekends, admissions to hospital emergency rooms increase nine-fold over normal levels, and journalist Franklin Foer noted that in the period from 1996 to 2003, eight deaths in Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches.

This weekend’s fixture comes on the back of two disappointing evenings in European football for both halves of the Old Firm. Rangers where stuffed 4-1 by Spanish side Sevilla, while Celtic only managed a 1-1 draw with Rapid Vienna.

In the league, both Rangers and Celtic have assumed their traditional places at the top of the table. But a quick glance will tell you that Rangers are already trailing Celtic by four points, a gap that could increase to seven should Walter Smith and his men lose. It’s even possible for Rangers to slip down to third place if Hibs beat United on Saturday.

While Rangers have been struggling to score (three 0-0 draws in a row), Celtic on the other hand have been finding the net a lot easier; The Bhoys have scored 11 goals in their last six matches , compared to Ranger’s 4 (measuring from the first of the three 0-0 draws with Motherwell).

But the stats only tell half the story. It took a goal in injury time to beat Hearts,  a draw with Dundee United at Parkhead was far from convincing and it took a lot of work to hang on to that 1-0 lead against Hibs. Tony Mowbray was far from happy with the 2-0 win against St Mirren.

Last season, Rangers just about edged out Celtic in this fixture in the league, beginning with that 4-2 win in October and ending with a 1-0 win at Ibrox in May of 2009 – i between, a 0-0 draw and a 1-0 win for Celtic completed the series. But if there was ever a match where the form guide means nothing, it’s this one.

It is early in the season, so even a loss for Rangers at this stage wouldn’t be the end of the world. Last season, they trailed Celtic by as many points several times during the season but still kept on Celtic’s coat-tails to pip them at the post.

With home advantage and arguably more to play for, you’d back Rangers to win this, but the misfiring forwards are going to be a problem for Walter Smith. Tony Mowbray’s first Old Firm derby as manager will be a tight affair as always, but he needs to worry about his defence, in particular Stephen McManus, who made the blunder that led to Rapid’s goal alongside the less than impressive Gary Caldwell.

At the end of the day, we think Cetic are going to be just that wee bit stronger, so we back them for a win: 0-1.

Queen of the South v Morton

High-flying Queen of the South take on less than high-flying Morton. The Doonhamers are currently top of the First division having put together a string of fine results that included wins against Dundee, Dunfermline and Partick Thistle. Only Ross County have beaten this season, recording back-to-back wins in the League and the Challenge Cup. Their recent League Cup exit to Rangers was a closer run affair than you might expect, and Queen of the South received much praise for their performance.

Morton on the other hand are floundering somewhat. When Raith’s Mark Ferry scored the third goal in their recent 3-0 win over Morton, manager Davie Irons probably felt that this weekend couldn’t get any worse.  Knocked out of the Challenge Cup by Ross County and the League Cup by Kilmarnock, and rooted to the bottom of the table after 5 games, the First Division table told a sorry tale: played 6, lost 6, goals for 0, goals against 16.

He was swiftly fired after the game, the club feeling that Irons had done as much as he can, but that things would not be allowed to continue as it had been. The following week, Morton, under caretaker manager James Grady finally recorded their first league win over Airdrie United, the 1-0 lifting the ‘Ton off the bottom of the table.

A league campaign is long hard fight to the finish line for most teams. The mark of a true champion is consistency  not only against the top sides in their division, but also the bottom sides. Many a team have beaten the best, only to lose embarrasingly against the lower ranked sides. So Queen of the South need to keep up their outsanding form and not take this game for granted. For Morton, it’s a chance to build upon that win last week and get themselves back to the party, and for James Grady and assistant Allan McMannus a chance to stake their claim on getting the job full-time.

Dundee v Annan Athletic

Annan Athletic have a chance to reach their first final since coming up from the Juniors. OK, so it’s the ALBA Challenge Cup, but silverware nevertheless. It’s a remarkable achievement for the little side from the Borders. As captain Chris Jardine says on his blog, it’s not that long ago since the Galabankies where lining up against Easthouses and Selkirk.

On their way to this fixture, Annan battled their way past Queens Park, East Stirling and Elgin City Standing in their way to the final re Dundee, one of the favourites for promotion to the SPL this season. Dundee beat Cowdenbeath and Stirling to set up this game and should be considered favourites to progress.

You’ve got to back Dundee to win this, but football is a funny old game and a shock might be on the cards here. Awaiting the winner of this game is a tie against either Ross County or Inverness Caley, who also play their semi-final tie on Sunday.

Inverurie Locos v Cove Rangers

In the second tasty derby of the weekend, second placed Cove Rangers take on third placed Inverurie Locos in the Highland League game of the day at Harlaw Park.

Cove Rangers will be keen to record a victory here to reclaim top spot, snatched from them last week by Deveronvale after their 3-1 win over Turriff.   Inverurie Locos go into the game on the back of progress in the Aberdeenshire Shield and the Active Nations Scottish Cup, scoring 11 goals over the two games (against St Cuthbert Wanderers and Aberdeen University respectively).